


Jump start

by SourWolf



Series: Lessons Learned [12]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-04
Updated: 2012-05-04
Packaged: 2017-11-04 20:00:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/397670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SourWolf/pseuds/SourWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott finally gets to talk to Stiles. Jackson gets what he wants, and Stiles ends up needing a jump only to get more than he asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jump start

It was fucked up, that’s what it was. I couldn’t think of a better wording for it if I tried. Allison kept offering me a ride, but I refused because she and Scott could at least enjoy the party together. At least Danny looked upset and ready to leave too. He was kind enough to take me home almost right away. He was even nice enough to make sure that I’d be okay to be alone and that I wouldn’t end up doing something stupid – something else stupid – if I was left at the house alone.

“I guess I’m not attractive to gay guys.” I said with a sigh, looking at my hands as they rubbed at each other, trying to work off the sensation of just how stiff Derek’s shoulders were before he left. “Repulsive would probably be a better word.”

“Stiles. Are you sure you don’t want some company? I’m sure Scott’s going to be here later tonight, but I can stay until then if you’d like.” Danny offered, but I quickly shook my head. If Danny and I were actually going to hang out, it wasn’t going to be because he felt bad that the second time I’d been denied was even worse than the first.

As soon as I was in my house, I locked the doors and the windows and drew all the curtains and collapsed on my bed. If Derek Hale though that anything was going to be okay, he was wrong. He couldn’t just do that and get away with it. He can’t just do that to people like me. He knows I’ll end up over thinking everything. He probably knows everything I’d do by now, which definitely wasn’t fair. There was no way that I could have expected that reaction to some dumb stunt to get the attention of my at times neglectful best friend and his pretty but enabling girlfriend.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling until it started getting blurry with moisture. I tried not to think about how good it all felt tonight. Derek pulling me from the cold water, practically carrying me into the bathroom while my cold limbs were too sluggish to move me, pulling my clothes off and warming me as though seeing me so frozen was uncomfortable for him, the kiss. And then there was the end to my night. Derek getting all tense, looking like he hated himself for getting that close to me, and running from me. I’m still pretty sure that the number of times Derek had ever run from anyone in his life could be counted on one hand. And now I was one of them.

Should I think of that as an honor? That a human didn’t even have to wave around an assault rifle packed with wolfsbane bullets in order to scare away an alpha werewolf seems pretty impressive from that angle. All I need to do is get close enough to kiss them apparently. Yay me.

So fucked up.

I couldn’t even look at my wall right now. Right next to my awesome anime-style snowboarder was a painting. I painted it actually, for art class in eighth grade. It wasn’t anything special. Just a background shaded with blues and a swirling blackness in the center. My teacher loved it. She said it was representation of the sadness that I felt. Probably true, but now it just made me think of the eyes that I used to be afraid of. Entrancing electric blues eyes that were now replaced with a sinister red color and, surprisingly enough, I really missed when they used to be blue. The way the black reached out in little tendrils reminded me of the way that the brown that hugged at Derek’s pupils undulated into the green of his eyes. It all just reminded me of Derek running away and how pitiful it was that I had caused it to happen with my lips. Most undesirable person in the universe award goes to Stiles Stilinski, who somewhere along the way had developed a crush on the unhappy wolf without ever noticing it. That is, until Derek practically screamed that he would never want to touch me like that again and vanished and whatever little comfort I had found in Derek in the past few weeks was just gone.

The house was so silent that I could hear the celebration of the ball dropping at Time Square from our neighbor’s house. Happy New Year, Stiles. Start it off with the affirmation that no one will ever want you while the person you used to be able to rely on for anything was off kissing his girlfriend, a promise that the new year would be good to them.

What was my promise? Another year of awkward moments, more ‘why are you even near me?’ looks, and being the lacrosse team’s least valuable player. And loneliness. Can’t forget that one. One o’clock rolled around, then two, when Scott didn’t feel it necessary to even send me a text by three, I gave up and buried myself in my sheets until I couldn’t find my way out of them. If it weren’t for Dad, I wouldn’t even want to wake up.

\------------------------------------------------------------

When the alcohol wore off enough that I was comfortable to drive, I left that lame party behind. Lydia could worry about it since she was the one that invited the worst guests possible.

I skidded to a stop in front of safety hazard that was the old Hale home, wondering why the town hadn’t seen to its demolition yet. I let myself into dirty house riddled with rotten planks and crumbling drywall.

“I hear you screwed yourself over. Again.” I teased loudly, walking confidently through the house. A lot of the alcohol might have worn out, but there was enough left to leave me feeling brave and the story I’d gotten from Danny’s date gave me more than enough ammunition. “You’re alone now for good after that little stunt.”

A growl at my shoulder made me jump against a wall, squeezing against it as I located the shadow of the werewolf by the demonic glow of his eyes.

“You don’t scare me.” I said firmly, staring the werewolf down.

There was a low rumble and Hale’s eyes ignited. I shrank against the wall, clenching my jaw against the bitter feeling of my own pathetic fear.

“Oh. You’re scared. You should know better than to try to push me around by now.” Hale’s voice was low and animal, but I wasn’t going to let this go.

“You’re alone now. Scott doesn’t want you. You burned your best chance to get him in your pack tonight, and it’s not like Stiles is going to be interested in spending his time with the queer that got a little too grabby at my party. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s more than just a little obsessed with my girlfriend.” I pressed, taking a step towards the alpha.

Derek seemed to consider this, circling around me thoughtfully before he stood menacingly behind me. I had to fight the urge to turn around as he spoke, knowing that if I did my guardians were never going to see the closest thing they had to a son graduate from high school.

“But you have a proposal.” He prompted, his words being forced to bend around his lengthening canines.

“Turn me like you promised. Scott won’t sit back and watch me reclaim everything he stole from me without a fight. He’ll have no choice but to come to us. And Stiles is never that far away from Scott. Even if that doesn’t work, where else do I have to go? Home to my supposed parents? To Lydia, who’s only interested in me because I make her look better? If you turn me, at least you’ll know you can rely on me. I’m strong. I’m fast. I’m smart. And you promised me this. I can’t go through another year of this. I’m tired of having no one that gets it, of having to be so perfect, of never feeling good enough for anyone. Please.” My knees were shaking and my voice was weak by the time I’d finished speaking. I didn’t want to leave without being turned.

Even dead sounded nice compared to going back to that house with my tail between my legs again. It wouldn’t even be a death people could scrutinize. What was a teenage boy supposed to do in the midst of an animal attack? I was fast; I tried to run. I was strong; I fought back. None of it was good enough. The animal was a predator. Its senses were honed for this exact purpose. Who could find fault with that?

I could feel the weight of Derek’s stare. It was crushing in the way it judged, so similar yet so different from the hundreds of people that stared at me every day watching and waiting to see me crack under the pressure. I’d gotten used to bearing the burden of their expectations. My future was riding on this stare, and Derek, in the end, was just a man. I could handle one more stare as I waited for his judgment to be passed. I stood with my shoulders squared, my fear pushed down into my stomach, and trying to will the moisture on my eyes from betraying me by slipping down my cheek.

“It’s going to hurt. Nothing is going to be the same. You’ll be hunted. You’ll have secrets you’ll never be able to tell. You’ll want to kill every person you’ve ever loved and every person you’ll ever meet. The wolf is going to feed off your anger and try to rule your emotions. Nothing about this is going to be easy, but you will have a place here. You will be stronger, faster, better. Are you sure you want it?”

Derek was actually agreeing? I jumped on the offer before he had the chance to pull it away from me again. “Yes.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Stiles had been acting weird for a while. He stopped texting me to see what we were going to be doing that day, he didn’t sneak into my house at night with some wild adventure to keep himself distracted and entertained on the long nights when his father was working, and he was always pushing me in two different directions. He threatened to castrate me if I even considered missing my chances with Allison, but he always made snide comments about how I left him alone.

It had only gotten worse after Derek molested him at the party. Allison was so excited about it, and I didn’t want to embarrass Stiles by bringing up how obviously upset he looked when he and Derek separated from each other. I wanted to talk to him about it, but he locked all of his doors and windows, which I took as a sign that he needed to be left alone. We always left our windows open for each other.

I stopped by every day before going to Allison’s, and everyday I was met with locked windows and no answer to the doorbell or my phone calls. Five days in, I decided to give Stiles some space if he really didn’t want to talk about it. He’d talk to me when he was ready. He always did.

I went to see Allison instead and everything felt better instantly like it always did when she was around. Even Lydia couldn’t get in the way of the good feelings that Allison gave me.

“Scott. Mind telling me why Jackson won’t answer my phone calls?” She asked expectantly.

“Why would I know what he’s up to? Shouldn’t you be asking Danny or something?” I asked, my brow furrowing in confusion.

“Funny you should say that. I did ask Danny, and apparently Danny spoke to his parents. Apparently the only idea anyone has is a text that Danny and his parents got saying that he was going with a friend to New York and that he’d be back before class started. Any idea of what that could possibly be about?” Lydia asked, her tone sharpening as she sought answers that I didn’t have.

Allison’s fingers ran through my hair, reassuring me and telling me not to let Lydia’s tone get to me. I leaned into the touch and put my hand on my girlfriend’s knee, shrugging at Lydia’s questions.

“I still wouldn’t know more than Danny would. I mean, they’re best friends. Who would Jackson know that Danny wouldn’t?” I replied, Allison’s fingers rubbing my neck telling me that I was doing a pretty good job of defusing the situation. Dealing with Lydia was difficult, there was a lot that she didn’t let people see, and if anyone knew how to deal with her, it would be Allison or Stiles. At least I had one of them with me.

“Hm. Funny you should say that.” Lydia said simply. The way she stared down at her painted nails made it clear that she wasn’t interested in explaining herself.

“What do you mean?” I asked, glancing over at Allison to find her looking as curious as I was.

“Well, Jackson disappears on the same night that Derek and Stiles run into… problems. Allison tells me that you’ve been by his house everyday but he won’t let you in or answer your calls. You still owe us for winning the bet, by the way. That money is just enough to get this new perfume I’ve been looking at.” She said, her eyes settling coldly on me.

“The bet was that they’d get together. Derek pushing himself on Stiles doesn’t count.” I countered, narrowing my eyes at the redhead. “What are you trying to say?”

Lydia rolled her eyes as though it should have been most obvious thing in the world, and Allison turned to look at me patiently, which meant that it probably was but I still didn’t see how any of it connected. “Stiles has been locked in his room, right? A week ago, he was spending all of his time at that disgusting old house with Derek. Add that to Jackson heading off to New York with a mysterious friend, and what does that spell, Scott? Sounds an awful lot like Derek might just be that friend to me.”

I gave Allison a panicked look and squeezed her knee. Jackson had been begging for the bite all along. Was it possible that Derek agreed to do it? Why would they have gone all the way to New York? Did Stiles know about it? I was sure that this was something I needed to talk to him about. We still needed to talk about what happened at the party and how things were going with Allison.

“Maybe Stiles will know something.” I offered, and Allison grinned at me. We kissed and I got up to head over to his house right away.

“Be sure to tell him we said hello. Be sure to tell him not to get too down in the dumps. Derek will come around.” Lydia called after me. I rolled my eyes and left, glad that Mr. And Mrs. Argent weren’t around to slow me down with questions.

Back at Stiles’ house, I was lucky enough to find his dad opening the door as he got in from a long night of work that was probably more hours than should be legally allowable. I followed him in and we said our hellos before he waved me up to take care of the moping son he’d been worrying about. I knew it was a relief to him to see me coming in.

I knocked on Stiles’ door and I heard him moving slowly around in his room. “Hey, Dad. You finally back?” He asked as the door swung open. “How long were they planning on keeping you for? Scott! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be off with Allison?”

I pushed into his room and closed the door behind me. “Why haven’t you been answering me?”

Stiles shrugged, looking at the ground. “No point, I guess. Didn’t feel like hearing how you were going to see Allison.”

“He jumped you and ran away. Don’t you want someone to freak out to about it?” I asked, giving him a soft shove.

He didn’t really give at the push and I stared at him curiously. He just looked thoughtful, the way he looked when he used to try to explain how he was feeling about his mom or how he worried about his dad.

“Scott…” He trailed off, sitting on his bed and trying to work out how to order the words.

“We can talk about that later.” I offered, changing to subject so he wouldn’t have to look so stressed about it. He looked thankful and disappointed at the same time. “Lydia just told me that Jackson went to New York. She thinks he went with Derek. Did he say anything to you about it?”

Stiles’ mouth fell open at my question. He gaped at me before he suddenly exploded off the bed and threw his hands up. “That’s freaking it! I give up! What the hell does the world have against me? Of course he didn’t say anything to me, Scott. There’s not much time to stop in for a chat if you’re running. There was no ‘Oh hey, Stiles, sorry for kissing you and running off like I saw that sociopath Kate again. By the way, I’m taking Jackson with me back to New York. Here are my reasons why I’m taking him and not the person that’s been giving me company for weeks on end while his best friend was off feeling up a girl.’ Do you really that would happen, Scott? Really?”

My jaw tensed and I tried not to get angry with him. I knew that he was upset, but he didn’t have to treat me like an idiot. After an awkward silence, he sat down and put his head in his hands. I move to sit next to him and put an arm around him.

He pulled back and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. I looked up at him curiously, letting him take his time. He was practically bursting at the seams from keeping it all in so long. He wouldn’t be able to hold it in for long with someone around that he could talk to. But the minutes ticked by and he stayed quiet, his thoughts flickering through his mind but not spilling out of his mouth in the way that I was accustomed to.

After a while, the silence was too much for either of us to bear and Stiles pacing around his room like a caged animal was too much for me to watch. I had a sudden urge to bolt to the woods and run just to prove to myself that I still could.

“Stiles.” I said firmly, watching as he finally came to a stop. “You’re making me so tense right now. Will you just say it?”

Stiles groaned, sliding his hands over his short hair in frustration. “God, Scott. I don’t know, okay? I don’t know why he kissed me back. I don’t know why he took Jackson to New York. I don’t know if he’s going to come back. I don’t –“

“Wait… Kissed you back? As in… you… kissed him… first?” I asked slowly, trying to let my mind accept the fact that Stiles might have actually kissed Derek.

“Yes! Look, it was just a stunt to try to get you and Allison to get off of each other for five minutes so I thank you for the hot chocolate. Then he kissed me back…” Stiles trailed off, his tongue sliding over his lips like he was trying to remember it.

“Stiles!” I stood up, freaking out a little bit. “Do you really like him? How many times has he tried to kill us?”

“Umm. None, actually.” Stiles replied, wearing that snarky grin he got when he knew that his logic would beat mine. I gave in and waited for him to explain himself. “Think about it. He never hurt us. He’s been completely harmless, minus throwing you around a couple times for being hardheaded and shoving me against a wall a few times for being right. Totally doesn’t count though. In fact, I can think of at least one ass whooping he took for me. And didn’t get caught by Allison’s freaky aunt because he was saving your ass?”

“Harmless? Speak for yourself. You never had to fight him.” I said bitterly, thinking of the times when he fought me until I submitted.

“Yeah, but he stopped, right? Its not like he beat you to a pulp. He just proved he was the better fighter. Just because he doesn’t let you walk all over him doesn’t mean he’s any less harmless. Okay. Maybe a little. Not the point.” He said, sitting in his desk chair and spinning around nervously.

“So… you don’t think he’s dangerous and you have a thing for him?”

“Yes. What? No. I don’t know.” Stiles sighed, spinning to a stop. “Derek’s been there, Scott. When Jackson was freaking me out, when he pushed me into the pool, even before that. When I was lonely or when I needed to focus to help you find the alpha, he just showed up. Did you know he patrols the town every night to make sure we’re safe?” Stiles asked, his attention turning spontaneously to that piece of information like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

“Why would I know that? I don’t go near him. You shouldn’t either. It isn’t safe.” I answered, clenching my fists. Derek was an alpha. He didn’t he listen when Derek said that alphas were the most dangerous of all?

Stiles just rolled his eyes and it made me even more annoyed. Why didn’t he get that Derek was a threat anymore?

“Derek’s not going to hurt us, Scott. He looks out for us. He’s always tried to take care of us, I think. And now he’s the alpha. He has to take care of us. We’re all he has.” Stiles replied, his voice so overly calm that it drew a growl from my throat.

“Even if any of that is true, he ran off with Jackson. Don’t you find that suspicious? He’s tried to kill Jackson before, and now they’re taking trips across the country together? How do we even know he isn’t going to kill Jackson there and just leave the body behind?” I asked, and Scott just sighed and shook his head.

“As awesome as it would be to not have to deal with Jackson, I don’t think he’s going kill him. Its what else he might do that bothers me.” Stiles said, looking up from his phone. “He isn’t answering my texts. Think werewolves have nationwide calling?”

“I’m pretty sure I do.” I said with a shrug. Stiles burst out laughing at me, and it took me a minute to realize how stupid that statement sounded. I rolled me eyes at Stiles and glared at him briefly.

He patted me on the back and grinned at me. “Oh, come on, man. You keeping making that face and it’s going to stay that way. Yeah. It is.” He cooed teasingly at me, poking at the corners of my mouth. “Come on, don’t be a grumpy wolf. Grumpy’s all taken up by Derek, yes it is. Do you want to end up looking like Derek ‘I’m such a big grumpy sourpuss’ Hale?”

I swatted his hands away from me. “You’d probably love that.” I teased, grinning at him.

Stiles sighed and shook his head. “I hate you so much for that right now. You know what? Get out.”

I couldn’t help smiling at that little victory. It wasn’t often that I got a hit in on Stiles like that so I felt pretty good about it.

Stiles started gesturing at me to get out, but I stayed where I was with that grin on my face. “Go. Shoo. I’m totally telling Allison how hard you used to cuddle with me when you slept over. Good luck having a litter of little werewolf puppies with her then.”

My eyes went wide and I let out a groan. “Oh my God.” I croaked out, unable to find any other words for what I was picturing.

Stiles sighed and put his hands on his hips. His jaw tensed before he pointed at me. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this. I’m telling her. You’re not getting out of it that easily.”

“No…” I trailed off, staring as Stiles as I freaked out internally. “What if they are puppies?” I groaned, sitting on the bed and putting my head in my hands.

“Scott, come on. You’re so far away from thinking about that. Right? Scott? Scott! Please tell me Allison isn’t pregnant! Oh my God! Scott?” Stiles started freaking out beside me, prodding me in the shoulder to try to get me to answer him.

“No! No, no, she’s not pregnant. We haven’t. It hasn’t happened.” I answered him, my voice hoarse. “But what if it does…”

“And that’s why we need – wait. Why am I arguing for him again? We’re talking about the same angry bastard that left me. What am I doing right now?” He said, turning away from me and putting his hands on his hips. “Look.” He spun around, one hand staying on his hip, the other gesturing with slow, serious precision. “Derek might be the sort of guy to be a rude piece of crap right after he kisses you the first time, but he’s not dangerous and I’m pretty sure he’d be willing to help you out if you’d bother to go to him. You are sort of the only werewolf he has. For now.”

Stiles looked like he was going to be sick at the thought of Jackson being a werewolf. I couldn’t blame him. Jackson would be a horrible werewolf.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day before classes started, Scott blew up my phone. I was busy doing my last minute shopping for school supplies. My highlighters had run dry, I was out of Post-it flags, and I needed to grab some paper for my binders or I’d end up running out.

I ignored the calls and put my phone on silent. I knew that if I started talking to him now that I would forget something and hate myself the entire day tomorrow only to forget what I needed to buy once classes were over. With my bags in hand, I checked my phone to find twelve more missed calls. What could Scott possibly want from me that was so important? If it was a ride to see Allison, I was going to break his stupid werewolf nose.

I was in my car before I noticed that there was a text along with all of those missed calls. I went to check it as I turned the key in the ignition, but it sounded like I had a dead battery. My phone dropped at I threw curses at the engine and tried again. Cursing turned to coaxing and begging as I tried it again before giving up in fear of flooding the engine.

I decided to try Scott first. He was probably with Allison so maybe they could drive over and give me a jump. There was a tapping on the window just as I was about to hit send and my mouth fell open. Tentatively, I rolled down my window and stared at the pretty blond whose blue eyes were on mine with a nonchalant, almost bored, expression.

“Hood, Stilinski.” He ordered, walking to the expensive car that was parked in front of mine. Had that been there the entire time? He popped his hood and put the jumper cables on his battery before looking at me through the windshield.

“Stilinski. Pop your hood.” He repeated, irritation growing in his voice.

“Umm. Yeah. I’ll just walk, thanks.” I answered, getting out of my jeep.

Jackson rolled his eyes at me, his grip on the alligator clamps tightening until I wasn’t sure that they’d be able to close again. “What’s to stop me from picking you up and throwing you in the Porsche?”

“Umm. Kidnapping and battery charges to name a couple things.” I offered, flinching away as his eyes began glowing. They were brown like Scott’s, but that’s where the similarity ended. Scott’s eyes were warm and golden. Jackson’s were dark and earthy with a ring of green at the outermost edge. If Scott tried to kill me when he was first getting used to the change, then what would possibly stop Jackson, who didn’t even like me, from tearing me apart? I hated Derek so much right now.

“Stilinski. Pop your hood. I’m trying to give you a jump.” He said through clenched teeth.

“You’re probably going to cross the cables and make my car explode or something.” I argued, giving in and leaning into the car to pop the hood. As much as I questioned Jackson’s intentions for doing me a favor, I didn’t want to leave my jeep in a public parking lot.

Jackson just growled at me and stuck the clamps onto my battery before walking back to his rumbling car and grabbing his phone. He stayed in the car for a few minutes, and as I internally argued with myself about whether Jackson was doing jackass-related Jackson things or possibly worse werewolf things, my phone buzzed. I figured it was Scott again so I decided I’d answer it this time.

Instead, it was a text from Derek.

Sourwolf McGrumpers: _Let me know if he doesn’t play nice._

I frowned down at the text. No, glared down at it. I stared down at the text message with a stare that would make superman’s heat vision cower in a corner. Better yet, make Derek go cower like a scolded puppy. Put him in his place.

_I hate you so much…_ |

My glare only got stronger as I watched the cursor flashing, asking for my next letter or for me to finally send the message. I let out an annoyed groan, and canceled the message before throwing my phone back into the jeep.

I turned to make sure that my jeep wasn’t getting ready to explode and

“OH MY GOD!” I shouted, jumping back away from Jackson who was looming over me like he’d gotten one too many lessons from Derek or something.

Jackson’s hand grabbed my shoulder and stopped me from backing into the lane, where a car whizzed past. Great. Now he was going to think he saved my life or something. How was he going to use this against me? And what was with that creepy smile? Is that why Derek never smiled? It was the kind of smile that made babies freak out and run to their moms. And then my chest tightened. Why did I have to think about not having a mom to run to?

“Stiles.” Jackson’s voice was silky. Too smooth to be trusted, that was for sure. “Calm down. You’re a train wreck.” He said, starting to turn before he stopped and turned back. I never thought seeing that smug grin on his lips could actually be relieving. “And I mean more than usual.”

He leaned into my jeep and cranked it before he started putting away the jumper cables. I shouldn’t ask. I didn’t want to know. It was probably just going to upset me. But once an interesting question popped into my mind I would obsess about it until I found an answer, and my mouth moved faster than my mind sometimes.

“Jackson. What did you guys do in New York?” I blurted out before he got the chance to leave.

He slammed the trunk of the Porsche and grinned at me. “I’m surprised it took you so long to ask.” He said, walking to my jeep and closing the hood. I rolled my eyes and was tempted to leave, but the question was asked so I might as well stick around for the answer. “He needed to move out of the house and finally withdraw from the university and he needed an extra pair of hands.”

He closed his hood and turned back to me one more time. “Don’t expect this treatment again, Stilinski. Once Derek gets back, it’s not my job to watch out for you.”

“I never even asked for your help. You’re at the bottom of the list of people I’d ask for help. Right above Derek right now. So that won’t be a problem.” I spat, glaring at the blond’s condescending grin.

“It’s not really what you want that concerns me. Especially not anymore.” He said, his eyes flashing to point out the fact that he had a certain biological superiority over me now.

“You haven’t even gone through a full moon yet, and you’re probably too stupid to realize how serious the threat of hunters really is.” I answered dryly, wondering why I ever bothered to talk to Jackson. I should have just bit my tongue and left my question unanswered.

Pearly fangs sparked against Jackson’s lips and I absolutely did not back away. “If that idiot friend of yours McCall can deal with it, it’ll be easy for me.” He said confidently. “Besides, if I do slip, I’ll just end up getting rid of someone useless like McCall or that rent-a-cop you call a father.”

I was so pissed off that I didn’t even realize I’d jumped him until he picked me up and pinned me against the car, his claws against my neck. I should have been afraid, but I didn’t care. He threatened my father, and that was the farthest thing from okay.

“Go ahead. Kill me. I dare you.” I spat in his face. Not the best move, I’ll admit.

His claws dug into my neck and I found myself somewhere else. Street signs flickered across my eyes but none of them were streets near Beacon Hills. There was a row of tall, narrow buildings with stairs leading up to the doors. Is that what brownstones looked like?

Derek’s tall shadow opened the warm yellow door. A clean kitchen. A living room with pictures of a pretty girl with black hair and a happy smile. Even a picture of Derek with a strange, forced-looking smile. There was only one picture of them together, with Derek’s watchful stare locked on the girl. I knew it was Laura, I could recognize her from the body we unearthed.

A flash and I was in a hallway, a small framed picture of Derek’s family in front of the unburned house, artwork, color, and lots of other things I didn’t associate with Derek. The place actually looked like a home. Laura must have decorated with Derek grumpily looming over her and trying to help. Flash and things were getting put into boxes and the boxes were getting put into a moving truck.

Flah to a line of knives burning my hip. Derek’s red eyes watched me, blood hanging onto his lips and fangs. “I told you it wouldn’t be easy.”

One last flash to Jackson’s hand pushing open a door and Derek noticing and standing to his full height. I guessed by the decorations that it was Laura’s room. His back was to me, and he turned his head to show his recognition. A growl shook the room, and I felt a fear that wasn’t mine. “Get. Out. NOW.” Derek’s anger exploded out of his body in a flash of fur and fangs and glowing eyes and I stumbled back, falling to the floor and curling into a ball and trying to shield myself with my arms. A slamming door forced me out of Jackson’s memories.

The Porsche was gone and I closed my eyes against the twinges of a headache forming just behind my eyes. I touched my neck was glad to see that I wasn’t bleeding out. It was going to be hard enough explaining how I got the cuts; I didn’t want to explain why I was covered in blood too. There were only a few drops of blood hugging the openings, but it burned like a bee sting straight from the depths of Hell. I was strong though. Practically a full-grown man. I didn’t groan or whine or anything. Well, maybe just a little, but it hurt!

I checked my phone to find another few missed calls from Scott. How long had I been going through that memory seizure? I needed to get home. Dad said he’d wait for me before heading to work. Maybe I could hide the claw marks if I pulled my collar up.


End file.
